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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Secrets Revealed

Jeff Ostrowski · June 11, 2019

84213 the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal HE SECRET is getting out. (Perhaps more slowly than one might prefer…) People are finally discovering the Brébeuf Hymnal to be unlike any other. One of my chant teachers (a priest now living in the United Kingdom) alerted me to an article published yesterday on the New Liturgical Movement blog—published by the Church Music Association of America—by one of their main authors: Dr. Peter Kwasniewski.

The author said the Brébeuf Hymnal is:

“…hands down, the best Catholic hymnal ever to be published. […] Its copious selection of hundreds of tunes and texts, including favorites, forgotten gems, and new commissions, all beautifully formatted and presented in a surprisingly compact hardcover volume, is not only unparalleled by any other current hymnal, but well exceeds that of any hymnal I have seen from any period. […] It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”

If you have not examined a copy, I encourage you to pick one up:

    * *  Order the Brébeuf Hymnal Today!

Every Sunday, I play four (4) Masses, plus three (3) rehearsals & Solemn Vespers. We use the Brébeuf Hymnal, and it is such a joy! The vocation of a choirmaster is not an easy one, but having this hymnal—with its easy-to-use organ accompaniment stored safely in the organ bench—helps me so very much.

For the record, the author of that NLM article takes issue with Article 1 of “Summorum Pontificum” (a 2007 document issued by Pope Benedict XVI) in terms of certain nomenclature preferences. I suppose each of us would do things our own way if we were Pope, and that author is certainly free to make his preferences public. On the other hand, such arguments do not change the reality of the situation: the Brébeuf Hymnal works very well with both the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form. It is difficult for me to see a compelling reason to hide or “cover up” that reality.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

These prayers were not peculiar to Good Friday in the early ages (they were said on Spy Wednesday as late as the eighth century); their retention here, it is thought, was inspired by the idea that the Church should pray for all classes of men on the day that Christ died for all. Duchesne is of opinion that the “Oremus” now said in every Mass before the Offertory—which is not a prayer—remains to show where this old series of prayers was once said in all Masses.

— Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)

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